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Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos. K’s discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years.

When news broke that after many years of conversation Blade Runner 2049 was officially a go I was against it. Blade Runner ranks among my favorite films of all time. Part of what makes that film so special for me was the ambiguity of its ending. My kneejerk reaction was to shut down the prospect of a sequel, because it would undo everything I love about the original film. Harrison Ford was going to be back so it would have to demystify everything I loved about the world of Blade Runner. Blade Runner 2049 would have to definitively tell you if Deckard was a replicant, right?

What if it didn’t?

I started thinking about how you bring Harrison Ford back to futuristic Los Angeles without messing up what made Ridley Scott’s film a flawed masterpiece. Then it occurred to me. The best way to approach Harrison Ford’s character in Blade Runner 2049 is to make him a replicant.

“But Jay, I thought you just said you liked the ambiguity of the original film.”

I did. But follow along…

The best way to handle the character of Rick Deckard in Blade Runner is to leave that character in the first film. His story ends when those elevator doors shut. What happened after that? Who knows? Was he a replicant? Maybe. Maybe not. It’s whatever you want it to be.

The character Harrison Ford plays in BR 2049 should be a replicant. It preserves the character established in the first film. If you thought he was a replicant and Gaff knew his dreams, he can be a replicant. If you believe he was a human who ran off with an android that he fell in love with, he did. Our Harrison Ford in BR 2049 can be a whole different character. He can be a replicant based on the human Blade Runner we met in the original film. Or maybe he’s another replicant in a long line of Deckard replicants. Pretty cool, right? The important part is this film doesn’t need to answer the questions that the first film asked viewers to answer for themselves.

Deckard the replicant could also open up a very cool plot for BR 2049. Imagine a world where Harrison Ford is the “skin job” on the run, with Ryan Gosling tasked to retire him? That idea makes me positively giddy. Maybe Deckard 2.0 is a replicant who has a human’s lifespan. This is the future, after all.

After coming to the realization that Blade Runner 2 doesn’t have to ruin what I loved about Blade Runner I am REALLY excited to see what story Villeneuve plans to tell in BR 2049.

Granted this trailer doesn’t tell us much, but I fear they may have gone a little two dimensional with the approach, especially based off of the synopsis released above. It frankly sounds like the plot of The Force Awakens with mixed with the plot to Total Recall (another film based on a Philip K. Dick story). I have ridiculous expectations for this film, my love of Blade Runner rivals my love of Star Wars. I’m really hoping Villeneuve is able to make something really special that stands up proudly next to Ridley Scott’s original film. He’s been knocking everything out of the park for the past few years. If anyone can make worthy sequel it’s him. (If you haven’t already seen it, get out there and see Arrival)

Production on the Blade Runner sequel has been rocking and rolling in Budapest since July, but information around the production has been tight. Here’s what we currently know… Ryan Gosling is starring in the follow-up to the visionary 1982 classic being directed by Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Prisoners) and produced by original helmer Ridley Scott. Harrison Ford is returning, but in what capacity is anybody’s guess at this point. The original film featured Ford as the titular Blade Runner, a cop/investigator tasked with hunting down and retiring (i.e. killing) replicants (humanoid androids nearly indistinguishable from actual humans). If he is playing the Deckard fans know and love is currently unknown.

Today a new image was released with Ford, Gosling, Scott and Denis Villeneuve, along with a familiar firearm.

Not only is Harrison Ford returning, his PKD Detective Special, the unique firearm he used to dispatch his share of “skin jobs” in the original entry is also back. A few weeks back a source shared that three fully functioning “hero” versions of Deckard’s classic blaster have been built and sent to the set along with three rubber “stunt” versions of the blaster as well. These new hero blasters have been built to fire blanks, something that was only rumored of the original. It’s not at all shocking that the blaster would be making an appearance in the next chapter of Blade Runner since Harrison Ford’s Deckard is along for the ride.

One would have to assume the other weapon on the counter would be Gosling’s own weapon of choice in BR2. After all the next installment takes place in 2049, thirty years after the original film. We must assume that this future is still evolving quickly and that weapons have advanced far beyond Deckard’s ancient blaster.

The original Blade Runner blaster was built by property master Terry Lewis from two very different guns, a Charter Arms Bulldog pistol and a Steyr-Mannlicher .222 Remington Rifle. In 1982 the gun was purchased by Hollywood Marketing Specialist Jeff Walker and wasn’t publicly seen again until it popped up at WorldCon in 2006. It sold at auction back in 2009 for a whopping $300k. It now resides in the amazing movie prop collection of Dan Lanigan. Take a look at the video below of Mythbuster and Prop Replica enthusiast Adam Savage fulfilling many a Blade Runner fans dream of inspecting and holding Deckard’s blaster (along with a lot of other treasures in Lanigan’s possession).

It’s a smart move for Warner Bros. to bring back as much from the first film as possible when you consider it from strictly a merchandising standpoint. The reason there has never been a ton of officially licensed Blade Runner merchandise is tangled mess that the rights are in. By plopping that stuff in this new film, they create a loophole that they can use to finally realize the potential of the property.

Deckard’s pistol ranks up there with Luke’s Lightsaber and the original Ghostbusters Proton Packs for me as the most iconic science-fiction props of all time. I’m thrilled that it will be there exactly how it was in the original film alongside Harrison Ford.

Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner has always been sacred ground to me. I own the film in nearly every iteration and can run you through the differences and merits of the Workprint, US Theatrical, International, Director’s and Scott’s Final Cut of the film if you have some time. I’ve read Paul M. Sammon’s meticulous researched history of the fillm’s production, Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner cover to cover many times. (It really is one of the greatest making of film books out there) So I’m a little passionate and more than a little precious when it comes to Blade Runner. After that preamble I’m sure that you wouldn’t be too shocked to find out that the film easily cracks my favorite five films of all time.

I started off anti BR2 from the get go. The film’s original ending (the one from the Workprint/Director’s Cut/Final Cut not the weird theatrical one using shots from The Shining) left the story where I wanted. The ending was ambiguous and left viewers to ponder the questions and come up with their own answers. Inherently, a sequel will have to undo that, right? Maybe it will, maybe it won’t. But with Ridley Scott coming back with Harrison Ford, I was willing to give it a chance.

Then Ridley Scott dropped out and they cast Ryan Gosling as the lead. I’m not at all a Ryan Gosling guy in the least. Sometimes he’s really good, but mostly I feel like I can see the mechanics of his acting. “My character would roll his pack of smokes up in the sleeve of his white t-shirt because he’s really blue collar.” Something about him as an actor just doesn’t rub me the right way. More power to you if you’re a fan, but his presence in a film generally doesn’t put my ass in a seat. Director Denis Villeneuve is another story completely. He’s easily one of the most exciting filmmakers working today and seems to be improving with every new film. The rest of the cast he’s assembled is amazing with Robin Wright, Mackenzie Davis (she’s got to be a riff on Pris, Right??), Dave Bautista (who blocked me then unblocked me on Twitter for saying I was on the fence about BR2), Barkhad Abdi (The dude who jacked Tom Hanks’ ship in Captain Philips) And Ana De Armas (who was wonderful in Knock Knock) filling out the rest of the cast.

Today Variety announced that Villeneuve has added Jared Leto to his cast for his as yet Untitled Blade Runner Sequel. I can’t stand Jared Leto. Is he talented? Of course. He’s a great actor and deserving of his Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club, but man is he a pretentious douchebag. I have zero doubt that a filmmaker like Villeneuve knows precisely what he’s doing, but it does not sell me on this film in the least. After Leto’s recent antics on the set of Suicide Squad, and the reception of his “performance,” Leto is luckier to have this film than this film is to have him. It’s an impressive feat to follow up an Academy Award winning performance with a film a performance so terrible that they nearly cut him out of the film completely. Thankfully, BR2 has been filming for a bit so Leto’s role is likely not very big. You have to wonder if WB pushed him on Villeneuve as a way to rehab his damaged (see what I did there) image with a good role as a way to wave the stink lines away from one of their biggest characters in the DCEU.

Warner Bros has announced that we’ll be getting back to the universe Ridley Scott created a few months earlier than expected.

In a press release it was stated that Blade Runner 2, from director Denis Villeneuve and screenwriters Hampton Fancher and Michael Green, will be dropping on October 6, 2017 instead of the previously staked out January 12, 2018.

While the sequel moved away from one as-yet-announced FOX/Marvel movie it now stands to contend with…another as-yet-announced FOX/Marvel movie. If either one of those films ends up being a Deadpool sequel, the WB could be in trouble as I think that would appeal to the mainstream public more at this point in time.

But this could also be a strategic move if the studio is looking for some Academy love (maybe for Visual Effects or some of the other technical categories?), moving the film right into the start of Award Contender Season.

Here is the official announcement from Warner Bros:

BLADE RUNNER SEQUEL WORLDWIDE RELEASE DATE MOVES TO OCTOBER 6, 2017

LOS ANGELES, CA, April 20, 2016 – Alcon Entertainment’s sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1982 masterpiece BLADE RUNNER, starring Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Robin Wright and Dave Bautista, will now be released worldwide on October 6, 2017, it was announced by Alcon co-founders and co-CEO’s Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove. Warner Bros will release the film in North America and Sony Pictures Releasing International will distribute in all overseas territories in all media.

The film, initially set for a January 12, 2018 North American release, will be directed by Denis Villeneuve (Sicario, Prisoners). Principal photography is scheduled to begin July 2016.

The sequel, set several decades after the original, is written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green, and succeeds the initial story by Fancher and David Peoples based on Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Story details are not being revealed.

Alcon Entertainment acquired the film, television and ancillary franchise rights to BLADE RUNNER in 2011 from the late producer Bud Yorkin and Cynthia Sikes Yorkin to produce prequels and sequels to the iconic science-fiction thriller. Cynthia Sikes Yorkin will produce along with Johnson and Kosove. Bud Yorkin will receive producer credit.

Ridley Scott will serve as Executive Producer. Frank Giustra and Tim Gamble, CEO’s of Thunderbird Films, will also serve as executive producers along with Bill Carraro.

The other day Dave Bautista hinted that he might have a part in a huge upcoming sequel and no we don’t mean Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2. The former WWE World Champ dropped clues that he was close to signing on the dotted line for the Blade Runner sequel.

Those hints have now been confirmed as Warner Bros sent out a press release to announce that Bautista has been added to the cast. No word on what his role will be other than to say he will play an “important supporting role.”

I liked Big Dave in the first Guardians flick. He showed he could not only be the muscle but had great comedic timing too. However he really dropped the ball when he appeared in the last James Bond film Spectre. He was little more than window dressing. In a role that could have been the next Oddjob or Jaws, he instead had a half-ass fight with Agent 007 and got killed in a really lame way (not that that was his fault).

I have faith that director Denis Villeneuve will handle the muscular actor right and give him a role that he can make a mark with.

Below is WB’s official announcment:

LOS ANGELES, CA, APRIL 4, 2016 – Dave Bautista will join Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford and Robin Wright in an important supporting role in Alcon Entertainment’s sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1982 masterpiece BLADE RUNNER, it was announced by Alcon co-founders and co-CEO’s Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson.

Director Denis Villeneuve (Sicario, Prisoners) is directing. Principal photography is scheduled to begin July 2016 and the film will be released by Warner Bros. in North America. Sony Pictures Releasing International will distribute in all overseas territories in all media.

The film is set several decades after the 1982 original, with Harrison Ford reprising his iconic role as Rick Deckard. The film is written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green, and succeeds the initial story by Fancher and David Peoples based on Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Story details, as well as Bautista’s character, are not being revealed.

Alcon Entertainment acquired the film, television and ancillary franchise rights to BLADE RUNNER in 2011 from the late producer Bud Yorkin and Cynthia Sikes Yorkin to produce prequels and sequels to the iconic science-fiction thriller. Cynthia Sikes Yorkin will produce along with Johnson and Kosove. Bud Yorkin will receive producer credit.

Bautista recently appeared in Marvel Studios’ blockbuster hit Guardians of the Galaxy and the newest installment of the James Bond franchise Spectre from Columbia Pictures. His upcoming projects include Lionsgate’s 2016 action film Marauders starring Bruce Willis and Adrian Grenier as well as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 where he will reprise his role as Drax the Destroyer alongside Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana, due out 2017 from Marvel Studios.

Fans were divided when they heard a sequel to Ridley Scott’s futuristic noir classic Blade Runner was in the works. But whether you love the idea or loathe its existence, one thing is now certain – we know when we’ll be seeing it hit theaters.

Warner Bros dropped a press release today that set an official release date. We can expect to see the next installment on January 12, 2018.

Typically the opening months of the New Year are dumping grounds for films that studios have no faith in. But maybe WB are doing a bit of strategic planning. Instead of putting it up against a slew of other summer blockbusters and tent pole films, the studio feels like it can have an uncontested hit early in the year.

Coming from Prisoners and Sicario director Denis Villeneuve and screenwriters Hampton Fancher (the original film) and Michael Green (Green Lantern), the only thing we know about the plot is that it will be set several decades after the first movie (which itself took place in 2019).

Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford have been confirmed to star, but Gosling’s role has yet to be defined.

Whoever (or whatever) the character may be, I know that droves of fans will turn out to either sing the praises of the sequel or bury it six feet under.

The official press release came out as follows:

Alcon Entertainment’s sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1982 masterpiece BLADE RUNNER, to star Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford (reprising his role as Rick Deckard), and to be directed by Denis Villeneuve (Sciario, Prisoners), will be released by Warner Bros. in North America on January 12, 2018, it was announced by Alcon co-founders and co-CEO’s Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson.

Sony Pictures Releasing International will distribute in all overseas territories in all media.

The story, written by Hampton Fancher (co-writer of the original) and Michael Green and based on a story by Fancher and Ridley Scott, takes up several decades after the conclusion of the 1982 original.

Principal photography is scheduled to begin in July, 2016. Multi-Oscar nominated cinematographer Roger Deakins (Sicario, Prisoners) will reunite with Villeneuve on the project.

Alcon Entertainment acquired the film, television and ancillary franchise rights to BLADE RUNNER in 2011 from the late producer Bud Yorkin and Cynthia Sikes Yorkin to produce prequels and sequels to the iconic science-fiction thriller. Cynthia Sikes Yorkin will produce along with Johnson and Kosove. Bud Yorkin will receive producer credit.

I’ve made my displeasure over the idea of Blade Runner 2 very well known. The first film is sacred ground for me and I think there’s far more to lose with a sequel than there is to gain.

I will admit that Ridley Scott’s enthusiasm along with the return of Harrison Ford and the hiring of Sicario director Denis Villeneuve have my interest VERY piqued.

Recently, Ridley Scott spoke during AFI Festival and shared what he had in mind for the opening of Blade Runner 2, which is actually the unused opening from the original Blade Runner. (Mtime was there and /film provided an English translation):

We decided to start the film off with the original starting block of the original film. We always loved the idea of a dystopian universe, and we start off at what I describe as a ‘factory farm’ – what would be a flat land with farming. Wyoming. Flat, not rolling – you can see for 20 miles. No fences, just plowed, dry dirt. Turn around and you see a massive tree, just dead, but the tree is being supported and kept alive by wires that are holding the tree up. It’s a bit like Grapes of Wrath, there’s dust, and the tree is still standing. By that tree is a traditional, Grapes of Wrath-type white cottage with a porch. Behind it at a distance of two miles, in the twilight, is this massive combine harvester that’s fertilizing this ground. You’ve got 16 Klieg lights on the front, and this combine is four times the size of this cottage. And now a spinner [a flying car] comes flying in, creating dust. Of course, traditionally chased by a dog that barks, the doors open, a guy gets out and there you’ve got Rick Deckard. He walks in the cottage, opens the door, sits down, smells stew, sits down and waits for the guy to pull up to the house to arrive. The guy’s seen him, so the guy pulls the combine behind the cottage and it towers three stories above it, and the man climbs down from a ladder – a big man. He steps onto the balcony and he goes to Harrison’s side. The cottage actually [creaks]; this guy’s got to be 350 pounds. I’m not going to say anything else – you’ll have to go see the movie.

…Or you can look below!

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I’ve included Sherman Lobby’s original storyboards for this exact scene made for Scott’s original film below which illustrate exactly how the scene plays out.

I’ve always loved this scene, but I can see why it was abandoned as it really didn’t fit in with the rest of Scott’s dark, claustrophobic cityscape.

What do you think? Are you interested in a Blade Runner sequel starring Ryan Gosling? Do you think this scene will play with an aging Ford as Rick Deckard? Leave a comment below!

Blade Runner 2 is swiftly moving along and producer Ridley Scott is in a talking mood. While promoting The Martian the filmmaker took the time to answer questions from Yahoo regarding Harrison Ford as a replicant, Ryan Golsing and sequels.

That’s right folks. If all goes well, we may get more Blade Runner in the future.

But first things first. One of the biggest contentions is whether or not Rick Deckard, Ford’s character from the 1982 sci-fi classic, is a replicant or not. Through the various cuts of the film it could go either way. Ridley says that we’ll get the definitive answer in the sequel:

Of course he’s a bloody Replicant! He’s going to have to admit it…I’m not going to tell you [how the question of replicant expiration is addressed]. You’ll have to see the story. It’ll all make sense.

Now, Ryan Gosling is also involved and there may be a “passing the torch” element here in regards to him taking over for Ford in the upcoming film:

[The original film] was 2017 (EDIT: The first film was actually set in 2019), so coming back it’ll be 2047, roughly. As young as you can play Ryan Gosling. He’s 34, but he looks 27 when he’s doing his push-ups. So maybe 2050.

Even though he’ll be involved, Ridley Scott will not be directing. That honor goes to Sicario helmer Denis Villeneuve. But the filmmaker is still of the mind that he’ll get last say in the final product that goes up on the silver screen:

Oh, yeah. I mean, I always have final cut on everything, really. Partly because I’m very user-friendly. I always believe when you’re given X amount of money by someone to f–k around with and make a movie, you can’t draw lines in the sand. If I was an investor and you did that to me, I’d remove your ankles. So don’t do the auteur s–t. I respect the guy for giving the money and I respect the studio for saying, “Yeah, you want to do this, here we go.”

And it seems like sequels are the name of the game when it comes to Scott’s franchises. First Prometheus is being rumored to spawn at least three more installments. Now he’s saying we’ll get more Blade Runner should all go well on this one:

Everyone else is, so why not? I love to work. The French say “Work to live,”and I live to work. I’m very lucky to have a job that I adore. All my kids do the same thing. Some of it’s trying, but it’s like being in professional sport. It’s so competitive [that] you better keep bouncing the ball. You can’t rest.

I’m all for more films as long as they have a story to tell. The first Blade Runner is a bit of a sacred cow amongst cinephiles. Let’s just see if Gosling can fill Ford’s shoes and Villeneuve can give the fans a sequel worthy of the name first.

As soon as the sequel to Blade Runner was announced it was like the sky opened and Armageddon was announced. The hardcore fanbase for the Ridley Scott classic is mostly of the mind that this is one of those films that is perfect as is and shouldn’t be bastardized by being made into a franchise.

And director Denis Villeneuve was actually among those. In an interview with Collider, the filmmaker spoke about how he both loved and hated the idea of a sequel:

When I heard that Ridley Scott wanted to do another movie in the Blade Runner universe, at first my reaction was that it’s a fantastic idea, but it may be a very bad idea. I’m among the hardcore fans of Blade Runner. Blade Runner is one of my favorite movies of all time. It’s a movie that is linked with my love and passion for cinema.

But in the end it was his love of the movie that led him to accept the job of sequel director and (become possibly one of the most vilified directors if this goes bad):

I’m totally aware of the huge challenge. It’s a risk I know that every single fan who walks into the theater will walk in with a baseball bat. I’m aware of that and I respect that, and it’s okay with me because it’s art. Art is risk, and I have to take risks. It’s gonna be the biggest risk of my life but I’m okay with that. For me it’s very exciting; it’s just so inspiring, I’m so inspired. I’ve been dreaming to do sci-fi since I was 10 years old, and I said “no”to a lot of sequels. I couldn’t say “no”to Blade Runner. I love it too much, so I said, “Alright fuck it, I will do it and give everything I have to make it great.”

Villeneuve wasn’t forthcoming with any details but he did say that the sequel would be autonomous and stand on its own, probably much like how Prometheus is part of the Alien universe but stands on its own. He did mention just which version of the four that have been released commercially resonates the most with him:

The only thing I can say is I was raised with the original cut, the original version that Ridley doesn’t like. That’s the Blade Runner that I was introduced to at the beginning and that I loved for years, and then I must say that I’m someone that appreciated the very last cut, the [Final Cut] version. So between all the different cuts, for me it’s the first and the very last that I’m more inspired by.

Blade Runner 2, which reportedly will star Harrison Ford and possibly Ryan Gosling, has been rumored to hit theaters at some point in 2017.

When the Blade Runner sequel was announced, the fanbase was more than a little apprehensive. Sure Harrison Ford was slated to reprise his role as Rick Deckard, but that wasn’t enough. The news of Ryan Gosling being added to the cast was met with general apathy. Director Denis Villeneuve definitely has his work cut out for him.

His work may have just gotten a little easier. Announced at Cannes, cinematographer Roger Deakins has signed on to shoot the film.

He has his work cut out for him, as Jordan Cronenweth’s captured some of the most breathtaking shots in sci-fi history. If anyone can come close to matching Cronenweth though it could be Deakins. There’s no contesting that Deakins has an amazing eye, in particular I love the work he’s done over the years with the Coen brothers.

Deakins has a dozen Academy Award nominations under his belt, but unfortunately he’s never taken Oscar home with him. The press release had this to say in part:

…Deakins received his latest Academy Award nomination this year for his work on Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken. He was previously nominated for Joel and Ethan Coen’s Fargo, The Man Who Wasn’t There, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, No Country for Old Men and True Grit; Frank Darabont’s The Shawshank Redemption; Martin Scorsese’s Kundun; Andrew Dominik’s The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford; Stephen Daldry’s The Reader, which he shared with Chris Menges; and, more recently, Prisoners and Sam Mendes’Skyfall.

Film is scheduled to start principal photography in summer of 2016. Hampton Fancher (co-writer of the original) and Michael Green have written the original screenplay based on an idea by Fancher and Ridley Scott. The story takes place several decades after the conclusion of the 1982 original. Harrison Ford will reprise his role as Rick Deckard…

…Kosove and Johnson state: “Roger is an extraordinary talent and we are very excited that Denis and Roger have chosen to continue their collaboration in bringing the sequel to BLADE RUNNER to the big screen.”…

This will be the third film Villeneuve and Deakins have shot together. The duo previously on Prisoners and the Cannes-premiered drama Sicario, which is in competition at the film festival.

Could this be the film that finally brings Oscar gold to Deakins’ mantle?

The sequel to Blade Runner is gaining some major steam as it moves closer to its summer 2016 principal photography start. You may have missed it, what with the new Star Wars trailer debuting today, but Harrison Ford will have a new co-star when he returns as Rick Deckard. The Blade Runner 2 producers announced that Ryan Gosling is joining the project.

The original film, directed by Ridley Scott, centered on a dystopian future set in 2019 Los Angeles. The sequel will take place several decades after the events of the 1982 classic.

Original director Ridley Scott will handle the executive producing duties this time around, handing the reins over to Prisoners director Denis Villeneuve. The script will come from original Blade Runner writer Hampton Fancher and Michael Green.

Right now almost everything else is being kept under wraps. That includes plot details and who exactly Gosling will be playing playing.

I’m not too sure how to judge this. Many fans are already crying foul play, saying a sequel is sacrilege. Gosling has his pick of whatever project he wants though, so he must see something of note in this movie. It’s tough to say at this point in time, especially not knowing any real details. For now, I’m intrigued.

Blade Runner is easily one of my all-time favorite films. It’s a rare film that’s only improved over the thirty plus years since its release. It’s a film that I genuinely love, I have nearly every release of the film on VHS, Laserdisc, DVD and Blu-Ray. I even have a wall in my home devoted to art inspired by the film.

Ever since the announcement that Alcon was planning a sequel to Blade Runner I hoped for something to happen to stop it, be it natural disaster, death, the apocalypse, I didn’t care as long as it didn’t move forward. It didn’t matter that Ridley Scott or that original writer Hampton Fancher came onboard or the possibility that Harrison Ford was considering a return. I loved the ambiguity of the ending of Blade Runner, so ANY sequel automatically undermines what made the film so great.

Today it was announced that Harrison Ford will indeed be returning to play Rick Deckard once more and that original director Ridley Scott will step aside so that Prisoners director Denis Villeneuve can helm.

Villeneuve is a fine director, maybe even an inspired, unconventional choice for a sci-fi film but I do NOT want a Blade Runner 2.

What are your thoughts? Before voicing your opinion you have to tell me your favorite version of the film and why?

Am I wrong in assuming that Harrison Ford doesn’t actually read scripts? I mean, is it really possible that the Blade Runner 2 script, written by Ridley Scott and original Blade Runner screenwriter Hampton Fancher, is not only good, but the best thing Harrison Ford has ever read?

According to Ridley Scott, that is exactly what Harrison Ford has stated after reading the most recent draft of the script. In an interview with MTV, Scott says:

“I sent him [the script] and he said ‘wow, this is the best thing I’ve ever read.’ It’s very relevant to what happened [in] the first one. I’m not just doing a sequel with lots of action and see how far we can go with the special effects, because you can’t really. [With] Blade Runner we kind of landed on a somehow very credible future. And it’s very difficult to change that because it’s been so influential with everything else.”

I’m remaining a bit skeptical on this quote since we have yet to hear it directly from Harrison Ford himself. And, frankly, I really don’t know that I’d believe it even if I did.

Is it possible that Scott could really make a worthy sequel to Blade Runner? I LOATHE the idea of a follow-up film. I fully acknowledge that I’m coming at this from an emotional level and not an analytical. Depending on the day, Blade Runner is my favorite film of all time. On its worst day it’s top five. I think that all a sequel would accomplish is to undermine everything that made the original film so great.

Could Blade Runner 2 be more than just a cash grab? Could Ridley Scott make a film worthy of standing alongside his original film? At this point we’re not even sure he’s going to be the guy in the director’s chair. Depending on the day, he might direct ot he might not.

I’m dubious about a sequel to Blade Runner, regardless of whether or not Scott is directing. What about you?

Ridley Scott recently gave an interview & revealed that the sequel to Blade Runner will start shooting next year, but confirmed that it will NOT be his next project (Prometheus 2 is rumoured for a 2016 release). Instead, he will only produce the movie as another director is being looked for. He did confirm that the director currently in talks would be liked by fans of the original.

This is obviously an unexpected twist, and the majority of fans of the 1982 sci-fi classic were only on board with a follow-up being made because of the involvement of both Scott and star Harrison Ford. Scott alsostated while Ford’s Decker will be back it won’t be as Blade Runner 2’s lead. “We talked at length about what it could be, and came up with a pretty strong three-act storyline, and it all makes sense in terms of how it relates to the first one,” Scott said in regards to breaking the story with Hampton Fancher.

“Harrison is very much part of this one, but really it’s about finding him; he comes in in the third act,” he revealed. It seems from that statement that we will have a new lead for Blade Runner 2, sound off on who you feel could carry this new chapter of the Blade Runner saga.

In a new interview with EW Ridley Scott dropped a bit of news about his three upcoming projects, The Martian (starring Matt Damon), Blade Runner 2 and Prometheus 2. All three projects have completed screenplays and are ready to go. Scott had the following to say about Blade Runner 2:

It’s written and it’s damn good. Of course it involves Harrison, who is a survivor after all these years—despite the accident. [That being Ford’s Star Wars injury.] So yes, that will happen.

Depending on the day, I count Blade Runner as, perhaps, my favorite film of all time. It’s certainly top three. Some of the plot is a bit confusing, bordering on not making sense and the pacing feels way off at certain points. The film is not a masterpiece, but it’s a masterpiece to me, warts and all. I love it a little more each time I see it. And I’ve seen it a lot.

That said, I am absolutely opposed to the prospect of a Blade Runner sequel. It scares the shit out of me, honestly.

In speaking with other Blade Runner fans, I have yet to find someone who is honestly excited at the prospect of a sequel. That leads me to ask the obvious question, who exactly is this film for? If the die-hard fans aren’t excited at the prospect of a sequel, then why make it? It’s obvious that Blade Runner has a devoted fan base who have supported the film all these years, seeing the various incarnations in theaters, and buying all those home video releases. I can’t lie and say that I won’t be there on Blade Runner 2‘s opening weekend. But, make no mistake, it’s not because I’m so excited to see the further adventures of Rick Deckard. No. I’ll be there to assess how much damage it does to the original film. That’s where this film is going to make it’s money, from all of us fans rubbernecking to see if the accident is as bad as we expect it will be once they get to the front of the line.

The way I see it there are a couple possible scenarios for Blade Runner 2…

The film comes out and is hailed as a masterpiece of sight, sound and storytelling. It instantly becomes the high water mark of what a sci-fi film should strive to achieve visually and inspires filmmakers for the next thirty years and beyond.

… Does anyone think this is likely, or possible, for that matter?

I certainly don’t. I think it’s far more likely that the sequel won’t even come close to living up to the original and it’s very existence will do irreparable damage to it. Its simple existence damages the ambiguity of the first film. Aside from the dazzling visuals, what made Blade Runner so great was that it treated the viewers as intelligent adults and didn’t spoon-feed all the answers. It was a film that challenged its viewers to think.

Out of respect for the first film, I honestly hope this one never hits the big screen. Stick to making a mediocre Prometheus 2. I love Ridley Scott and I love Ridley Scott films. They aren’t all great, some of them are not even good. But I still think he has it in him to make a great film or two before he hangs it up. I just don’t want him to gamble with Blade Runner. It’s too near and dear to my heart.

What do you guys think? Is anyone interested in actually seeing Blade Runner 2? Is there any way you could see a sequel working?